Daily Archives: January 9, 2011

Chappaqua NY Year End Real Estate Report | RobReportBlog

 

In 2010 there were 90 sales in the Chappaqua real estate market. In 2009 there were 89 sales. The market has been flat.

The median price of a sold 2010 Chappaqua NY Home was $913,500. In 2009 it was $870,000. A 5% increase.

 

2010 Chappaqua Sales statistics.

90 homes sold

3093 ave. square feet

$2,290,000 high price

$288,000 low price

$913,500 median price

$323 ave. price per foot

166 ave. days on market

94.75% sold price to ask

 

 

 

2009 Chappaqua Sales statistics

89 homes sold

3189 ave. square feet

$3,000,000 high price

$380,000 low price

$870,000 median price

$324 ave. price per foot

182 ave. days on market

93.59% sold price to ask

 

Chappaqua Real Estate

Chappaqua Luxury Homes

 

Dansk House in Armonk NY Goes On Sale | Armonk NY Real Estate

Theodore and Martha Nierenberg, the founders of Scandinavian tableware and cookware company Dansk International Designs built a 7,100-square-foot home in Armonk, N.Y., in 1961. After her husband died last year, Ms. Nierenberg knew it was time to leave the leave the home after nearly 50 years.

“I was telling Ted some time ago that if he dies first, I’m out,” the 86-year-old Hungarian native says wistfully.

On a rock sledge in Armonk, N.Y. sits a country home listed for 7.5 million dollars. The luxury retreat was built by the founders of the design company Dansk.

At $7.5 million, the listing for the seven-bedroom home is currently one of the most expensive in the area, which includes International Business Machines Corp.’s headquarters. A roughly 18,500-square-foot Colonial estate nearby is listed for nearly $15 million, and a 6,800-square-foot home on four acres is listed for $7.9 million.

The Nierenbergs chose this Armonk property, on a rock ledge overlooking a 10-acre lake, for its views and its location near offices and warehouses that they built for Dansk in Mount Kisco. The couple, who married in 1951, sold off sections of the original 40-acre property over the years, eventually leaving them with 22 acres.

“We certainly wanted a house with a view, especially here since we have a beautiful piece of land,” Ms. Nierenberg says. The couple and their four children, who grew up in the house, used the lake at the heart of the property year-round for swimming, fishing and ice skating. Ms. Nierenberg says she still swims in the lake in the summer.

The main living areas, kitchen and master bedroom are on the main floor. The children’s former rooms, built into the rock ledge, are downstairs. The home features hardwood floors, stone fireplaces and stone and teak terraces.

Upstairs, glass walls have no curtains to give “a light feeling,” Ms. Nierenberg says. She adds: “The lovely part about the house is that it’s a year-round house.”

The clean lines and simple, modern designs echo Dansk’s designs, the result of contributions to the house by Dansk’s original designer, Jens Quistgaard. A Dansk ice bucket inspired the design of the staircase, and a trivet inspired bathroom walls. Mr. Quistgaard also designed tables, lamps and door frames found throughout the house.

Ms. Nierenberg still uses the flatware that was Dansk’s–and Mr. Quistgaard’s–very first design. Examples of the flatware are part of the collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

 

NYT Article

Armonk NY Homes

Armonk Luxury Homesk

South Salem’s Tator Dodge Was Third Dodge Dealer in The US | South Salem NY Real Estate

A New York Dodge Dealer and His Legacy

 

SOUTH SALEM, N.Y.

On Nov. 14, 1914, John and Horace Dodge, two bicycle makers turned automotive pioneers, began selling their first cars as the Dodge Brothers Motor Car Company.

The Dodge reputation was so great that thousands of people applied for the first dealerships. Twenty-five were chosen. No. 3 on the list was George T. Tator, an automobile mechanic in a rural slice of Westchester County, who managed to scrape together $800 and a horse to buy four and a half acres with a house and a barn outside South Salem.

In his first year he sold seven of the very first crop of $785 Dodges, using the barn as his garage and office and three horse stalls as bays for the cars. The next year he sold 12, and the year after that 20. Three years after it started, Dodge Brothers Motor Car Company was the fourth-largest automobile manufacturer in the country, and by the late 1920s, Mr. Tator and the five associate dealers now working under him were selling 250 cars a year.

Even then, the auto business could be a tumultuous one. Sales plummeted with the Depression and never surpassed their peaks in the 1920s. The Dodge brothers both died of flu in 1920. Five years later, their widows sold the company to the New York investment firm of Dillon Read & Company for the astonishing sum of $146 million. Walter Chrysler bought the company in 1928 for $170 million and since then it’s lived on as a Chrysler brand, its origins, for 99 percent of consumers, lost in the mists of time.

But if the corporate history got complicated, the Tator history became part of the fabric of local life and American myth. Mr. Tator took a damaged Dodge truck and added two 30-gallon soda and acid tanks to it, and it became the town’s first fire truck. The Fire Department kept its equipment at the dealership until 1953, mechanics dropping wrenches and jumping on the truck when there was a call.

Under George Tator, his son Charles and now Charles’s son, Chuck, it became a local institution the way car dealerships became part of the landscape in towns across the country.

Annual sales climbed to about 100 in the late 1940s and 1950s and then steadily declined as newer dealerships were established, and as buyers began moving away from American cars. Now 30 is a good year. But Tator’s managed to survive not just as a local institution but, improbably, as an international one. Chuck Tator, who still lives above the dealership, became known as one of the most proficient service people for Dodge Vipers, the $90,000 10-cylinder sports cars lusted after by car aficionados.

“He’s one of the absolute masters, the guy to go to on the whole Eastern seaboard, Canada or Europe,” said Scott Grayson, former president of the Viper owners club for New York and Connecticut. “And he’s old-school in the best way, like a doctor who makes house calls.”

 

NYT Article

South Salem NY Homes

South Salem Luxury Homes

 

Cabbage Hill Farm’s 70 acres in Mount Kisco Donated to Land Trust

Seventy acres of Cabbage Hill Farm, one of Westchester’s original and best-known organic farms, has been preserved forever thanks to a conservation easement donated to Westchester Land Trust by Nancy and Jerry Kohlberg.

The farm, which sits on a hillside near Mount Kisco, has been in operation since 1986 and is in the vanguard of the local food movement, producing livestock, poultry, vegetables and fish, much of which is used at The Flying Pig and other area restaurants or sold at a farm stand in Mount Kisco.

The conservation easement, which had been in the works for more than two years, allows agriculture to continue on the 70 acres, protects its many important environmental characteristics and ensures that the property will not be further subdivided.

Most of the farm is pasture for cattle and sheep. Cabbage Hill is known especially for raising rare heritage breeds, including the Large Black Pig (appropriately named), Devon Beef Cattle and Shetland Sheep.

To read more about this great preservation project, and about Westchester Land Trust’s role in protecting local farmland, visit our website, www.Westchesterlandtrust.org.

Westchester Land Trust sends its sincere thanks to the Kohlbergs for this generous donation.

 
 
Best wishes,

 

Tom Andersen

Deputy Executive Director

Engagement Marketing | Shaping the Conversation

 

It is said that a typical American is exposed to 30,000 advertising messages a day.  I found that hard to believe when I first heard this but then I just looked around and thought about this for a moment.  Why don’t you think about this for a moment.  Imagine your drive to work – billboards, commercials on the radio, how about logos on cars and trucks.  Now think about your day at work – banner ads, logos on shirts, your computer, your telephone.  Now that you think about it, you can start to imagine this notion of 30,000 ad messages a day.  Now how many did you notice?  How many can you remember?  How many of these ad messages influenced you in any way?  This is called “ad blindness” and we are getting very good at filtering this stuff out as consumers. 

Interruption Marketing

Interruption marketing is the process of finding a prospect engaged in something else, like reading a magazine, watching television, watching a game, driving to work and interrupting him/her with a commercial message. To do that “creativity” in its conventional form is a huge asset albeit rare.  In citing the example above, if you are not influenced or affected any one of the 30,000 ad messages a day, how is it that companies keep doing the same thing hoping for a different result.  That’s insanity.  It’s also a crap-shoot.  It’s a matter of broadcasting loud to as many people as possible and hope it trickles down to a potential buyer.

 

As you can see, it’s not very effective.  For many companies, their solution is to fight clutter with even more clutter.  Target audiences, no matter how well segmented, have learned to filter out and ignore the noise.  This is a fact.

Engagement Marketing

The digital space is about engaging in a conversation with peers, customers and staff, innovating with them and constantly improving your value proposition in an authentic way. Customers have the power, the information, the advice and the resources to make their own decisions, in the digital world its about entering the conversation.  It’s about transparency and allowing consumers to participate and shape your brand based on authentic interactions between your employees, product or service and your customers.  It also turns the traditional marketing paradigm on its head — using the interaction with one to spread “affect and influence” thru their personal network.

 

It’s about becoming involved.  It’s about allowing your customers to shape your brand and shape the future experiences you deliver to your customers.  It’s about human connection and relationships again — not a manufactured identity of the traditional brand.

Shaping Our Conversation

These are the types of subjects I will continue to explore with you as this blog evolves.  We will look at how our connected society has turned traditional notions of marketing, supply chains, and the economy at large on it’s head; and we’re just beginning on this quest.  This quest is a gloabal one that will affect us all in both positive and negative ways.

Like Sutton Place A Lot | Luxury NY Real Estate

On Manhattan’s East Side near the East River is Sutton Place, which includes some of the city’s most exclusive enclaves.

The neighborhood takes its name from Effingham B. Sutton, a 19th-century shipping merchant and entrepreneur who made his fortune during California’s 1849 Gold Rush and then built brownstones on 57th and 58th streets in Manhattan. By the early 20th century, the area became filled with tenements, but wealthy families like the Vanderbilts later transformed it.

 The ritziest part of the neighborhood is dotted with pre-war buildings and properties with intricate facades designed by Rosario Candela. Most of the apartments are in exclusive co-ops whose boards require buyers to put down at least 50% cash, local brokers say.

While there are commercial areas on First and Second avenues, the most exclusive areas—at the neighborhood’s most-eastern end—are completely residential, without restaurants or storefronts. Residents have included Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller, as well as former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo and Daily Beast founder and editor in chief Tina Brown.

 “It’s a very specific client—a client that is looking for a lot of peace and quiet,” says Jacky Teplitzky of Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate. “Some people will say it’s inconvenient, that you don’t have a supermarket nearby, but another person will say, ‘That’s great. There is tranquility there. Not a lot of people are walking around me.'”

 The somewhat isolated location is, indeed, a problem for some. “A lot of people have complained about transportation because the subway is on [Lexington Avenue],” says Jennifer Breu of Heddings Property Group.

That’s getting closer to changing now that the long-delayed Second Avenue subway is moving ahead and the portion between 59th and 96th streets is slated to be largely completed by the end of 2016.

Of course, public transportation wouldn’t concern many of Sutton Place’s residents, where stretch limousines often wait outside the doorman-attended buildings on weekday afternoons.

 In addition to co-ops and condos, there are some townhouses in the neighborhood. A five-story renovated townhouse at 15 Sutton Place is currently available for $10.75 million. The 10-room home, built in 1899, has views of the East River, four fireplaces, an elevator, high ceilings, separate staff quarters, a ground-floor patio and a terrace, according to the listing.

New construction in the area is limited, but 441 E. 57th St., between First Avenue and Sutton Place South, is a new addition. The 15-story condominium building with six residences has a glass facade that makes it stand out among the brick buildings surrounding it.

NYT Article

Bedford Luxury Homes

Pound Ridge Luxury Homes

Town of Bedford NY Needs to Cut Its Budget | Bedford NY Real Estate

Bedford’s finances, which so dominated town officials’ attention in 2010, remained a preoccupation Tuesday, with even nickel-and-dime contract renewals getting the scrutiny once reserved for megadollar expenditures.

In the end, virtually all of the contracts—routine renewals of such services as computer maintenance, animal control and visiting nurses—were approved. But the town board had served clear notice that at least for the foreseeable future business will be anything but usual. Indeed, even assents came amid grumbling that some service providers do not fully grasp the severity of Bedford’s fiscal squeeze and could find their contracts being “shopped around,” as Deputy Mayor Peter Chryssos put it—more than once.

Everyone doing business with the town had been asked to “do better” in their 2011 rates, much as town departments were required cut back this year’s funding requests. Disappointed in some of what they found, town board members took turns examining both the rates vendors charge and the services they provide.

As an Age of Austerity took firmer root in town hall, the board Tuesday also:

  • Cut a nickel from the money paid for each mile driven on town business in personal automobiles, citing IRS calculations to drop reimbursement from 55 cents to 50 cents.
  • Increased, but modestly, most fees for groups using town park facilities and set fees for renting space in the Bedford Hills Community House, including $420 for six hours’ use of the main auditorium, $55 for the room below the auditorium and $35 for the board room or lounge.

Full Story

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2011 Leatherman’s Loop will be held May 1, 2011 at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Cross River, NY

 

2011 Registration – Opens January 11th – Read Below for Details

Leatherman’s Loop News: Volume 25, Issue 1

StartThe 2011 Leatherman’s Loop will be held May 1, 2011 at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation in Cross River, NY.

We are changing the registration process for the 2011 Leatherman’s Loop.  The past few registrations have closed in 34 days (2008), then 16 hours (2009) and finally, 3 hours (2010). We felt a change would be helpful and avoid potential problems. 

The registration this year will be in 2 stages:

Stage 1: Open registration for first 500 spots.  This will be the same as the past few years.  At 11am on Tuesday 1/11/2011 registration will open.  First come, first served.  When the 500 open spots are filled, we will close out stage 1.  We anticipate this stage going very quickly.  If you get registered during this stage, you are all set for the Loop.

Stage 2: Lottery registration for next 700 spots.  At 9am on Wednesday 1/12/2011 the 2011 Loop Lottery will open.  It will remain open for runners to sign up for Lottery spots through Tuesday 1/25/2011—so there is no immediate rush to sign up.  Runners will enter their information into the lottery registration, including a credit card number.  Your card will not be charged unless you are picked in the Loop Lottery.  After the Loop Lottery entry closes on Tuesday, January 25th we will have the drawing for winners on Friday, January 28th.  Winners will be notified immediately and charged the race entry fee (and t-shirt cost if ordered). 

NOTE: Everyone who misses out on the open registration rush (Stage 1) will have ample opportunity (nearly 2 weeks) to sign up for the Loop Lottery (Stage 2).

There are some potential issues and wrinkles with lottery registration (if you think of any more, let us know):

1.) If you are running with a group, some people may want to make sure all in the group get in before committing to the Loop.  To accommodate this we will ask for your group’s name during lottery signup and whether you want to be an “all or none” lottery entry.  The odds of the group getting in will be the same as an individual so there is no advantage or disadvantage to being part of a group.  It is a personal preference.  Groups can be as small as two people.  If you are not running with a group or simply want to register for the lottery you don’t have to fill in this information.

Cuomo Wants To Cap Property Taxes

 

Cuomo NYS Real Estate Tax Facts | Bedford NY Real Estate

 

 

 

Governor Cuomo promises to CAP real estate taxes because he believes they are too high.

 

Governor Cuomo’s NYS Real Estate Tax Facts:   (  http://tinyurl.com/2ed83fo  )

1.     Property tax levies in New York grew by 73% from 1998-2008, more than twice the rate of inflation during that period.

 

2.     New York has 2nd highest combined state and local taxes in the nation and the highest local taxes in America as a percentage of personal income, 79% above the national avarage.

 

3.     The median property taxes paid by New Yorkers are 96% above the national median.

 

4.     When measured in absolute dollars paid Westchester (1st), Nassau (2nd), and Rockland (5th) counties are among the 5 highest taxed in the nation.

 

5.     When property taxes are measuredd as a percentage of home values over a 3 year period, the top sixteen counties in the nation are all in upstate New York.

 

Bedford NY Homes

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Lewisboro NY Parks and Preserves | Lewisboro NY Real Estate

Lewisboro is rich in natural areas and is a component of the biotic corridor. Two Westchester County Parks are on Lewisboro’s borders, and there are 6 town parks and several community preserves.

Ward Pound Ridge Reservation is Westchester County’s largest (4,700 acre) park. In addition to many trails, there are camping facilities and a Trailside Museum. The main entrance is on route 121 in Cross River.

Mountain Lakes Camp is a County park on the northern border of Lewisboro, with beautiful ponds and trails in the forest. The most popular trail leads to Look Out Point which is perched on top of a cliff overlooking Lake Waccabuc,Lake Oscaleta and Lake Rippowam.


Onatru Farm on Elmwood Road is one of Lewisboro’s preëminent parks and includes tennis facilities and playing fields as well as some town offices. This area also includes some walking trails.

The Lewisboro Town Park on Route 35 contains tennis courts, the town pool, ball fields, and outdoor basketball courts. When ice skating is available in winter, a sign is posted. There are also some walking trails in this park that connect to the adjacent Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.

The Leon Levy Preserve was acquired by the town in 2006 as open space. While some trails exist in this 370-acre (1.5 km2) parcel, as of 2008 additional horse and hiking trails are under development and parking is still limited.

The Brownell Preserve is 118 acres (0.48 km2) of forested land given to the town. It has a 2-mile (3.2 km) trail that loops past an overlook of Lake Katonah.

The Old Field Preserve was obtained in 2003, and contains about 100 acres (0.40 km2) of woods, wetlands, and sizable old fields (thus, the name). The meadows will be preserved to support the birds and animals that are dependent upon this increasingly rare habitat.

Fox Valley Park has a variety of sports facilities for the town, including very busy soccer fields, ball fields, and tennis courts.
See Walking Wild Lewisboro for information on park facilities and trail maps.

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